Interview with the lecturer: PhDr. Mgr. Dušan Kalášek

PhDr. Mgr. Dušan Kalášek is an ESBM lecturer, a certified lecturer at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. He mainly deals with soft skills topics, crisis and project management as well as strategic management. He currently works in several companies one of which is a co-owner and holds the position of executive director and has responsibilities in the areas of personnel management, economics, organization management and business activities. He has completed many educational activities, training and exams, so he can be proud of an abundance of various certificates and certificates that are a signal of top quality and support his personal growth and overview in the topics currently discussed.

Most of our students know you, but how would you introduce yourself to those who have never heard of you? And I don’t just mean students, but the entire wider public.

How am I? I can’t say that for myself it has to be evaluated by those with whom I interact professionally or personally. I always ask students what they expect from me, what they expect from teaching and what they expect from themselves. I am relative, at least that’s what others say about me, such a Renaissance person. The term renaissance man means that I am interested in many different areas. I have a relatively good overview of the economy, politics, economy, industry and education, thanks to the fact that I moved and worked in these areas. I am currently working on several amazing projects and positions. Based on the vote, I became the chairman of the Agency for the Development and Support of Critical Infrastructure of the Czech Republic (ARPKI) www.arpki.cz and the president of the Association of Critical Infrastructure Schools (ASKI) https://aski.cz/. This is my main job now. I have my company, which I handed over to my daughter as part of the succession process in May 2022, so I already have someone to represent me or replace me. Well, how to characterize yourself? I’m a completely ordinary person, I’m a lecturer, I’m a manager, I’m just a person.

What are your greatest life and professional achievements?

I consider my family, my wife and my children to be my greatest success in life. I would say that this is probably the most important thing. From those work achievements, I think it’s not just about the career. It’s about not being afraid to try new things, looking for opportunities and taking life as one huge challenge. I think that there is no need to talk about success because just being a person is a huge success. I took part in many projects. Both at international and domestic events, I communicated with the Parliament, I worked at the Chamber of Deputies and I have a lot of experience in general. I have also worked as a professional firefighter and psychologist. As part of the interventions, I had the opportunity to be in a situation where, let’s say, the psychosocial service, I was able to save one life. I hope this can be considered a success. In the last 20 years, I have lectured at approximately six universities, either in a shorter sequence or long term. And I have been working at the BUT in Brno, at the Faculty of Information Technologies, for fourteen years this year, so I have been working there for a long time. I also see the fact that I belong to the team of ESBM lecturers as a great work success.

You recently received an exceptional certificate as the only one in the Czech Republic. What exactly is the certificate and how difficult was it to get?

Yes, you are right, I am the only one in the Czech Republic who has obtained the Safe and Security Certificate from CISSA. I went through a very complex process of screening and lustration, both due to cooperation with, for example, the Ministry of the Interior and in the process of awarding the CISSA certificate. This certificate authorizes me to be able to certify other entities for security and critical infrastructure. As the chairman of the Agency for the Development and Support of Critical Infrastructure (ARPKI) https://www.arpki.cz/, I believe that I will participate with my colleagues in the security and operation of this state, which is the main priority. The Safe and Security Certificate qualifies me to work at the manager level in critical infrastructure.

How was this whole process?

It was a three-month audit of my personality and work history. There were also tests of professional knowledge from the crisis law, personality audit, whether I was mentally resilient enough, how I handle stress and so on.

What are you doing now? What is currently the most important thing in your life? What do you put the most effort into?

Right now, I’m probably the happiest about founding the above-mentioned agency. Together with a group of experts from all over the Czech Republic, we founded the Agency for the Development and Support of Critical Infrastructure, which is a non-political, non-profit organization, but focused exclusively on assistance and support and the operation of the Czech state in various areas. In the nine areas of critical infrastructure that have been set aside by law, we mainly do organizational matters, seminars on the floor of the parliament, and professional seminars focused on cyber security, state defence, crisis management, healthcare, etc. We also cooperate with various foundations, universities and professionals from the state sphere and the commercial sector.

What are your plans for the future?

To devote me fully to work in the Agency for Development and Support of Critical Infrastructure. I see great potential in it and above all great meaning. I’m at an age where I don’t want to do unnecessary things anymore.

And now to your work at ESBM.

I have been working at ESBM since 2020, teaching several modules in the MSc program here. Specifically, these are the modules Strategic Techniques and Analysis, Phases and Processes of Strategic Management, and Design. I probably can’t say which of them I enjoy more, or which I learn better. I am very happy that the students who attended the classes give nice feedback. Thanks to this, I dare say that they like the teaching.

What would you say to ESBM students?

If I have the opportunity to tell ESBM students something, it is to not be afraid to go into situations that are unknown to them and to take life as an opportunity, not as suffering. To take life and all situations as a challenge. My motto, which I have been using for a long time, is: “You can achieve what is out of reach”. It’s a line by William Shakespeare from one of his plays, and I’ve lived by it quite a bit in my life.